Too Late
by XxXxFading DreamxXxX
Summary: Naruto has been away on a mission and connot wait to return home. But something feels wrong. WARNING character death. NaruHina. Do not own Naruto... yet.


Too Late

Too Late

I had been gone for three weeks.

The mission had not been hard, I'd encountered a few bandits but had easily defeated them, mostly I spent my time training, the Kazekage, Gaara, had needed help with a band of rebels intent on destroying the alliance between Suna and Konoha

It had been good to see Gaara again after all it had been a few years since I'd seen another Jinchuuriki in good health. Remembering the state Gaara had been in after the attack from the Akatsuki Naruto shivered, he had been deeply afraid for his friend at the time.

At the age of 19 Naruto was now at his full height and to Sakura's chagrin one of the tallest Konoha-nin. He had finally given up his orange and black jumpsuit and now wore a jacket that was all black except for a small spiral on his back that was orange (he couldn't totally give up his favourite colour). He wore the standard black pants of a shinobi, with two kunai holders one for each leg, as he was proficient with the kunai in both his left and right hands (among other weapons thanks to the sadistic training of Ten Ten).

His blonde hair was the same as it had always been with a tint of red at the tips, his eyes were if it was possible a brighter shade of blue as they now told a happier tale, although hidden behind that still resided the sad tale of his childhood.

A foxy grin, smaller than what it had been in his youth, held an infinite happiness. The mask he had always worn had been taken from him; he no longer needed it to hide his pain.

He paused in his journey home, a sense of wrongness pervading his senses. The hairs on the back of his neck began to rise. Danger lay ahead, in the direction of Konoha. He heard the faint breathing of a person nearby just as he was about to leap onto a tree branch in order to reach Konoha faster. Stopping himself from turning to confront this could-be threat he continued walking listening to the small sigh of relief and then the footsteps of his follower.

He created a Bunshin using one-handed signs; the Bunshin hid its presence and slid under the ground, to follow his follower. As Naruto stopped again to get a drink from his bag he heard the sound of the breathing change to a faster pace. _So they are afraid of me. _He could hear the figure shaking making the surrounding shrubbery rustle. Using the substitution technique he switched positions with his clone that without missing a beat began to walk once more towards Konoha.

Watching the follower he realised two things he was young only about 11 and wore the itai-ite of a sound shinobi.

Suddenly an explosion made his ears ring the smell although from far away entered his enhanced senses, realisation shot through him as he estimated that the explosion had happened near Konoha, more precisely near the Hokage tower. Putting two and two together Naruto nearly revealed his position to the young sound-nin luckily the boy was too busy watching the clone to notice.

Konoha was being invaded by Sound once again.

Abandoning his follower he accidentally dispelled the Bunshin making the boy panic and run to a clearing in the forest and reach down holding a kunai and cut through a string that was attached to…

Crap… from all sides of the surrounding forest came a sharp high pitched sound that cut through his finely attuned and enhanced hearing, a trickle of blood slid from his right ear, he staggered backwards away from the sound that no doubt was a warning signal to someone. There was another explosion and so he leaped to the nearest tree and his ears ringing from the high-pitched notes ran as fast as he could towards Konoha.

He was a little more than a day away for a civilian with no ninja training and it was due to the kyuubi's enhancement of his now nearly useless ears that he was able to hear the two explosions from Konoha. Never the less the noise at Konoha must have been deafening for him to hear it from so far away.

He only hoped that he would arrive in time to protect his precious people.

"Sasuke-sama, Naruto has just passed area B, he is moving at a rapid pace."

"Hn…" _How much stronger are you now Naruto, since our last meeting. Will this be what finally destroys you?_ Remembering their last encounter the only surviving Uchiha looked around at the place he had not called home since he had left it all those years ago. The village had been weak just as it had been seven years ago when the last invasion by Sound had occurred. This time though it was not only the Hokage who died, but also the entire village. The Godaime, Tsunade, one of the legendary Sannin had been old and easily defeated she lay dead near the Hokage tower.

No child had been spared and no building remained whole. Orochimaru could never have achieved this feat, but he did not matter anymore he was already dead slain by his own apprentices hands.

His one regret lay before him. She was beautiful even in death. They had fought hard, both battling against their hearts, neither showing their internal struggles. The Kunoichi had become stronger, and learned many powerful techniques. More than once she had nearly hit him with her monstrous strength. The title of the Godaime's assistant and previous apprentice had been well earned.

Glancing at her blood stained body he saw that she held in her grasp a forehead protector, now absolutely worthless, in both his eyes and the rest of the Shinobi world. Using his advanced eyesight he could see the leaf symbol carved into it, just.

_Flashback_

"_Sasuke-kun why do you hate Konoha? This was once your home. What happened to make you change?" She lifted a hand to her forehead protector and untied it, only to stare at it for a moment and then retie it around her forehead. "Sasuke-kun even though you are no longer a fellow shinobi of Konoha, I will fight you as you once fought Naruto. We are fellow Shinobi who once shared a past we were once teammates. We are no longer." She sped towards him at an incredible speed adding chakra to reinforce her punch. Only to have her fist stopped by Sasuke's hand._

"_You have not changed Sakura. You are still weak. But now you are weak of heart. To defeat me you must hate me. You are too weak to hate me."_

_End Flashback_

He turned and for the last time walked through Konoha's streets with a smirk across his face. Behind him, the Sound-nin followed. All else was silent.

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He knew before he saw the gates that he had been too late. He could hear nothing but the pounding of his heart and the near silent whispering of the tree's. Although he knew already the fate of all those inside of Konoha's gates he could not believe in his heart that they would be gone.

He stopped outside of the gates. The echo of screams and metal hitting metal and the dull thud of a human falling to the ground was forcing him to walk forward he fell to his knees in disbelief.

Time passed and yet he could not stand, using all of his willpower he rose to his feet and walked through the broken gates of his home. To his right just beside the wall of a house lay a young child no more than six a kunai in her hand. Tears fell down his cheeks as he saw the girls parents a few feet away from her where they had fallen trying to protect her. To his left a young gennin, an orphan that he had often helped train the boy had been so excited when he had passed the gennin exams.

These deaths had been pointless, he did not want to believe that this was all because he could not bring back his former team-mate all those years ago… His vision blurred placing a hand to his cheek he felt the tears that were slowly sliding down his face. Walking further into the village Naruto stared at the destruction around him. Villagers lay unmoving on the ground surrounded by Konoha's protectors.

He had failed them all. Turning down a street he knew well he saw the sight that he most dreaded. The proof that this was his fault; because he had not only failed the village he had failed his first friend and brother. Lining the gutters were the burnt bodies of several Chuunin. Turning down another street that led to the Hokage tower he passed a wall that showed the tell tale sign of being hit by a Chidori. Underneath lay Kakashi, his eyes open staring at nothing a hole through his chest where his right lung would have been.

Kneeling beside his team-mate and former sensei, Naruto closed the Jounin/Anbu's eyes. Once more he stood now in search of his other team-mate and Onee-chan.

She lay alone surrounded by rubble and sound-Nin. He noticed that she was smiling sadly. He bent down and kissed her forehead. The pain he was feeling was the worst he had ever known, his emotions were in turmoil. The girl he had loved like a sister was gone.

He stayed beside her inert body for several minutes that to the lone shinobi seemed to pass slowly, mocking him, forcing him to realise the truth of what all his senses were telling him.

Finally he rose. He now searched for the girl he loved even more than Sakura. She had been the first to take away his mask, before he had left for his mission he had held her in his arms. Now as he searched for her he followed the soft scent of lavender that surrounded her at all times. He could feel her once more in his arms as he held her he smiled as he remembered the dark blush that she wore in those last moments of bliss.

The smile left his face instantly as he stopped. She looked like she was sleeping, her face was calm and held an unheard of beauty, her lips slightly apart, her eyes closed. She could have been sleeping if it were not for the blood that covered her. He fell down to his knees by her side. He sat there as the pain welled up inside of him the tears streaming down his face.

He stared at the woman he had loved with all his heart, did love with all his heart. His breath came in ragged gasps. He turned his gaze to the sky. How could the sun shine so brightly when it looked upon the destruction below? How could he continue to live knowing that she would not be around the next corner waiting for him?

The sun slowly sank below the horizon. The normally hyperactive, most surprising shinobi of Konoha also known as the Laughing Shinigami had not moved. As the stars scattered the skies his thoughts were of happier times spent with those who were now gone from him forever.

As the light of dawn broke through the darkness he bent down to his love and whispered to her unhearing ear, "Hinata-chan I love you… will you marry me. I only wish that I had asked you." He tilted his head slightly and kissed her cold lips tasting the blood that covered them.

He turned once more to the fading stars as a breeze came and carried away his words around Konoha's broken streets. A voice that was full of love and sorrow spun around Tsunade where she lay, they danced over Iruka, floated over Kakashi and seemed to pause over Sakura's still heart. They passed over every child soothing the souls of the dead. The wind blew them further from Konoha carrying the words…

_I will always remember you. I will keep you forever in my heart._

In a cold and damp dungeon the last Uchiha felt a wind that should not have been, a cold shiver passed over him, and a cold fear entered his soul. He waited.

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Well that's the end hope you liked it.

Me: "Sasuke-kun is such a cold-hearted bastard in this! How could he do that to Konoha?" -cries-

Sasuke: "because you made me!"

Me: "oh right, well… um, sorry?"

Naruto: -Slams down door- "Teme… why did you kill Sakura-chan and Hina-chan!!"

Sasuke: "I didn't! She made me do it!!" -points and glares-

Me: "…" -runs from room-

Please review (even Flamers are welcome) Thanks for reading.


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